Phys.org: Phys.org news tagged with: energy departmenthttp://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.HP supercomputer at NREL garners top honorA supercomputer created by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that uses warm water to cool its servers, and then re-uses that water to heat its building, has been honored as one of the top technological innovations of the year by R&D Magazine.http://phys.org/news333115204.html
TechnologyTue, 21 Oct 2014 13:00:13 EDTnews333115204Solar energy prices see double-digit declines in 2013, trend expected to continueDistributed solar photovoltaic (PV) system prices dropped by 12 - 19 percent nationwide in 2013, according to the third edition of a jointly written report on PV pricing trends from the Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In addition, 2014 prices are expected to drop another 3 - 12 percent, depending on system location and market segment. Industry analysts expect this trend to continue over the next couple of years, keeping the nation on track to meet the DOE SunShot Initiative's 2020 targets.http://phys.org/news333115075.html
TechnologyTue, 21 Oct 2014 12:58:03 EDTnews333115075Report IDs 'major weaknesses' at nuclear-arms labOne of the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratories is being called out by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Energy for "major weaknesses" in the way it packaged contaminated waste before shipping it to an underground repository in southern New Mexico.http://phys.org/news331393086.html
EarthWed, 01 Oct 2014 15:00:02 EDTnews331393086NREL software tool a boon for wind industryWind energy is blowing away skeptics—it's so close to achieving cost parity with fossil fuels that just a little extra efficiency is all that is likely needed to push it into the mainstream and past the Energy Department's goal of 20% wind energy by 2030.http://phys.org/news331277249.html
TechnologyTue, 30 Sep 2014 06:50:02 EDTnews331277249NREL bolsters batteries with nanotubesResearchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are turning to extremely tiny tubes and rods to boost power and durability in lithium-ion batteries, the energy sources for cell phones, laptops, and electric vehicles. If successful, the batteries will last longer and perform better, leading to a cost advantage for electric vehicles.http://phys.org/news323442313.html
TechnologyTue, 01 Jul 2014 14:05:28 EDTnews323442313NREL finds up to six-cent per kilowatt-hour extra value with concentrated solar powerConcentrating Solar Power (CSP) projects would add additional value of 5 or 6 cents per kilowatt hour to utility-scale solar energy in California where 33 percent renewables will be mandated in six years, a new report by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found.http://phys.org/news321640043.html
TechnologyTue, 10 Jun 2014 17:27:37 EDTnews321640043Climate change shifts focus for energy systemThe U.S. National Climate Assessment report states bluntly that streets in coastal cities are flooding more readily, that hotter and drier weather in the West means earlier starts to wildfire seasons, and that every region of the nation already is seeing real effects of climate change.http://phys.org/news320649508.html
TechnologyFri, 30 May 2014 07:10:01 EDTnews320649508Eliminating rare metals in electric motors: Lab shows powerful, possible next step at summitA team from the Renewable Energy and Vehicular Technology Laboratory(REVT) at UT Dallas was one of a few research groups selected for advanced participation in a Department of Energy conference aimed at presenting the next generation of energy technologies.http://phys.org/news319719720.html
TechnologyMon, 19 May 2014 12:03:47 EDTnews319719720NREL, Sandia team to improve hydrogen fueling infrastructureA new project led by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories will support H2USA, a public-private partnership co-launched by industry and the Energy Department, and will work to ensure that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle owners have a positive fueling experience as fuel cell electric vehicles are introduced starting in 2014-2015. By tackling the technical challenges related to hydrogen fueling infrastructure, the Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) project is designed to pave the way toward more widespread deployment of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.http://phys.org/news319194192.html
TechnologyTue, 13 May 2014 10:20:02 EDTnews319194192NREL assembles industry group to explore solar lending potentialIncreasingly, banks, credit unions, and other lenders are beginning to offer loan products to homeowners and businesses for the installation of rooftop solar systems. However, barriers to accessing this growing market still remain. The Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently convened the Banking on Solar working group to engage lenders and other stakeholders to address these barriers.http://phys.org/news319194295.html
TechnologyTue, 13 May 2014 10:05:03 EDTnews319194295Tiny power plants hold promise for nuclear energy (Update)Small underground nuclear power plants that could be cheaper to build than their behemoth counterparts may herald the future for an energy industry under intense scrutiny since the Fukushima disaster, the incoming head of the Nuclear Energy Agency told The Associated Press.http://phys.org/news316955546.html
TechnologyThu, 17 Apr 2014 12:12:37 EDTnews316955546Unlocking secrets of new solar material(Phys.org) —A new solar material that has the same crystal structure as a mineral first found in the Ural Mountains in 1839 is shooting up the efficiency charts faster than almost anything researchers have seen before—and it is generating optimism that a less expensive way of using sunlight to generate electricity may be in our planet's future.http://phys.org/news316855606.html
TechnologyWed, 16 Apr 2014 09:10:05 EDTnews316855606NREL driving research on hydrogen fuel cellsHydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) were the belles of the ball at recent auto shows in Los Angeles and Tokyo, and researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) continue to play a key part in improving performance and durability while driving down costs.http://phys.org/news314951872.html
TechnologyTue, 25 Mar 2014 08:40:02 EDTnews314951872NREL aims to improve building energy performance with new web-based toolThe Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a web-based tool to help consumers better understand the energy performance of building-related products. The Technology Performance Exchange (TPEx) is a portal that helps manufacturers and other organizations that measure and test products easily share performance data with product consumers.http://phys.org/news313768167.html
TechnologyTue, 11 Mar 2014 14:49:38 EDTnews313768167NREL report finds similar value in two concentrating solar power technologiesParabolic troughs and dry-cooled towers deliver similar value for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, despite different solar profiles, a new report by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found.http://phys.org/news311420429.html
TechnologyWed, 12 Feb 2014 09:40:37 EDTnews311420429Supercomputer exposes enzyme's secretsThanks to newer and faster supercomputers, today's computer simulations are opening hidden vistas to researchers in all areas of science. These powerful machines are used for everything from understanding how proteins work to answering questions about how galaxies began. Sometimes the data they create manage to surprise the very researchers staring back at the computer screen—that's what recently happened to a researcher at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).http://phys.org/news310027713.html
BiologyMon, 27 Jan 2014 06:49:00 EDTnews310027713NREL working to clean air in fracking processIn the annals of impressive eating, there was The Cat That Swallowed the Canary and The Eggplant That Ate Chicago. Now, add The Microbe That Consumes the Methane.http://phys.org/news309611089.html
EarthWed, 22 Jan 2014 11:05:18 EDTnews309611089Natural gas exports: Slow walk or "danger zone"?The debate over exporting liquefied natural gas is intensifying as the Energy Dept. considers an array of applications to ship the fuel to Japan, India and other countries where prices are far higher than in the United States.http://phys.org/news308556351.html
TechnologyFri, 10 Jan 2014 06:06:05 EDTnews308556351Home electricity use in US falling to 2001 levelsThe average amount of electricity consumed in U.S. homes has fallen to levels last seen more than a decade ago, back when the smartest device in people's pockets was a Palm pilot and anyone talking about a tablet was probably an archaeologist or a preacher.http://phys.org/news307636472.html
TechnologyMon, 30 Dec 2013 14:34:46 EDTnews307636472NREL reports soft costs now largest piece of solar installation total costTwo detailed reports from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) find that solar financing and other non-hardware costs—often referred to as "soft costs"—now comprise up to 64% of the total price of residential solar energy systems, reflecting how soft costs are becoming an increasingly larger fraction of the cost of installing solar.http://phys.org/news305987883.html
TechnologyWed, 11 Dec 2013 12:38:19 EDTnews305987883NREL-developed software tackles building efficiency and offers cost savingsA unique software application created by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) could improve the efficiency of commercial buildings by allowing occupants to interact with buildings more directly.http://phys.org/news304692580.html
TechnologyTue, 26 Nov 2013 12:49:52 EDTnews304692580Energy loses $139M on loan to electric car makerThe Energy Department says it will lose $139 million on a loan to struggling electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc.http://phys.org/news304415198.html
TechnologySat, 23 Nov 2013 08:20:01 EDTnews304415198Solar working group releases standard contractsA working group representing solar industry stakeholders has developed standard contracts that should help lower transaction costs and make it easier to access low-cost financing for residential and commercial solar power projects.http://phys.org/news303485092.html
TechnologyTue, 12 Nov 2013 13:25:01 EDTnews303485092New solar cell is more efficient, less costly(Phys.org) —American innovators still have some cards to play when it comes to squeezing more efficiency and lower costs out of silicon, the workhorse of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules worldwide.http://phys.org/news303380210.html
TechnologyMon, 11 Nov 2013 08:17:01 EDTnews303380210DOE awards $84M for 18 carbon-capture projectsThe Energy Department has awarded $84 million to 18 projects across the country to help limit carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.http://phys.org/news303059258.html
EarthThu, 07 Nov 2013 15:20:01 EDTnews303059258Scientists raise concerns about $60 billion nuclear weapons planThe Energy Department's plan to modernize its aging nuclear weapons complex and update the seven hydrogen bomb designs in the nation's arsenal would require massive investments at a time of severe budget pressure.http://phys.org/news301647406.html
TechnologyTue, 22 Oct 2013 09:50:01 EDTnews301647406Weatherization work guidelines launchedGetting up and going to work is hard enough every day. But add to your burden the need to remember every step of your job down the smallest detail—and the fact that if you want to change careers, your lack of credentials might mean starting from scratch. These are the challenges faced by many of the weatherization professionals working to make U.S. homes more energy efficient.http://phys.org/news299849789.html
TechnologyTue, 01 Oct 2013 12:36:47 EDTnews299849789NREL calculates emissions and costs of power plant cycling necessary for increased wind and solarNew research from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) quantifies the potential impacts of increasing wind and solar power generation on the operators of fossil-fueled power plants in the West. To accommodate higher amounts of wind and solar power on the electric grid, utilities must ramp down and ramp up or stop and start conventional generators more frequently to provide reliable power for their customers – a practice called cycling.http://phys.org/news299249034.html
TechnologyTue, 24 Sep 2013 13:44:49 EDTnews299249034Energy Dept.: Personal data compromised by hackersThe Energy Department says personal information for about 14,000 past and current employees was compromised after the department's computers were hacked. Information such as Social Security numbers and names was disclosed in the attack, which occurred in late July.http://phys.org/news295934296.html
TechnologySat, 17 Aug 2013 05:20:01 EDTnews295934296Scientists find asymmetry in topological insulatorsNew research shows that a class of materials being eyed for the next generation of computers behaves asymmetrically at the sub-atomic level. This research is a key step toward understanding the topological insulators that may have the potential to be the building blocks of a super-fast quantum computer that could run on almost no electricity.http://phys.org/news295621773.html
PhysicsTue, 13 Aug 2013 14:09:45 EDTnews295621773